Charting the Course

The incorporation of professional competencies in the curriculum that complement the technical profile of engineers is a global trend in education. Therefore, exposing engineering students to experiences and learning environments that foster the development of professional skills as part of their formal education from the very beginning and in a consistent and effective manner must be a main task of every engineering program. The Introduction to Engineering course is a great opportunity to expose the engineering students to scenarios to start developing professional skills. However, it is evident the lack of maturity of freshmen students to address challenges and engineering projects. The aim of this work is to propose a structure for an introductory course in engineering based on competencies that provides a framework for engineering practice. This paper describes the learning areas, competencies, learning outcomes and activities that will contribute to develop the knowledge